


Pick Your Heart Up Off The Floor

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: Drama, Humor, M/M, Poor Life Choices, background MakoHaru, unresolved Haru feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 20:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin finds himself at loose ends when Makoto and Haruka start dating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pick Your Heart Up Off The Floor

Rin's visit home started off strong out of the gate. The guys came to meet him at the the train station and soon it was like the last six months in Tokyo never happened. No one had enough money to hang out anywhere good, so they walked over to the harbour-front and bought takoyaki from a street vendor. Makoto made sure everyone got an equal portion. Meanwhile, Nagisa filled him in on the idiot freshmen who were his kouhai in the Iwatobi Swim Club.

It couldn't have been more different from Rin's life at Keio University. No crush of strangers. No stress and no smog. Just the breeze and the chatter, the ocean and his friends. 

Nagisa had to peel off early, though -- something about an errand for his parents -- and that was when the evening came skidding to a halt. The balance was shattered, the engine fell out of alignment, and what had once been a group of five bros transformed into two pals and a _couple_. 

Rin and Rei allowed Haru and Makoto to drift in front of them as they made their way down the boardwalk. Makoto was transformed by the change in formation; he pulled himself up to his full height and let his knuckles brush Haru's at relaxed, steady intervals. Haru was the same as always, but he didn't pull away from Makoto the way he might from an ordinary person. He accepted Makoto's hovering as though it were a natural as the tide. 

Makoto wasn't someone that Haruka had to fight. 

"God," Rin said. "Would you look at that? It's like chugging a glass of red bean paste. I think I've got diabetes."

"I think it's nice," Rei said. He was looking at Rin as though he was worried that Rin might bite. Not a quick, discreet glance, but some full-on v-shaped glasses-pushing action. 

Well, Rin wasn't a stray dog, and he didn't have rabies, and he was just _fine_ with the fact that Makoto and Haruka had started dating or living together or whatever the fuck it was called when your surgical attachment at the hip became less metaphorical. It wasn't like no one saw this coming when they both decided to commute to a local college after graduation. Those two had practically been married since they were eight. 

"I know, man. It's tough for you." Rin clapped Rei on the shoulder. "All that tender beauty out there in the world and poor Rei's alone at night with his smartphone and a graphing calculator app. Those equations aren't keeping you warm." 

"Pardon me?"

Heh, a second v-shaped glasses push in as many minutes, this time with added flush. Nagisa was going to be so pissed that he wasn't here to see Rin challenge the record. 

"Well, don't worry about it, glasses," Rin said. "I'm going to set you up." 

"I don't recall expressing any interest in that," Rei said. 

"Not in so many words." Rin waved off Rei's protest. 

When it came to the delicate subject of teen romance, Rin wasn't about to gauge Rei's interest based on what he _said_. Christ. What a disaster that would be. The guy was awkward as fuck. Left to his own devices, he'd probably spend the rest of his life perving on old Olympics clips. Rin still wasn't sure how Rei even found that practice footage of the South Korean dive team, or how it was supposed to relate to relay starts. 

"I'm graduating in two months, it's a bad time to--"

"Stop right there before you out-nerd yourself." Rin snapped his fingers for emphasis. "I've got your back. We're doing this." 

Once upon a time, back when Rin was too young to realize how badly he could fuck up his own life, he'd been one hell of a social organizer. Rin couldn't have totally lost the knack, could he? Nah, he was talented as hell. They let him into business school, after all, and his admission wasn't totally based on the strength of his triceps. 

Rei flipped into Makoto mode, smiling the smile of someone trying to appease a crazy person on the subway. Which only went to show how much he knew. 

"Is everything going well for you at school?" Rei asked.

Up ahead, the knuckle-brushing had escalated into some kind of weird shoulder-bumping situation. Maybe that was what passed for a public display of affection with Makoto and Haru, but Rin would almost have preferred it if they just gave in to their hormones and made out already. 

"Fishing to see if you've got an advantage now?" Rin said. "Please. Like I'm not keeping up with my training. If I don't let my body go to shit, I've got a solid shot at twenty-twenty."

For whatever reason, this seemed to appease Rei, who shrugged back into a more natural expression. 

"I just don't see the value in a victory without any aesthetic merit," Rei said.

Rin rolled his eyes. They all had plans to go swimming tomorrow, which meant that he and Rei were going to have to have this out for the five millionth time. Might as well get a head start. 

"That's why you never win, you chump." 

 

+++ 

 

Rin grabbed the edge of the pool and pulled himself up into a sitting position. His shoulders burned and his toes were starting to prune up. An hour worth of swimming was about all Rin could take before the chlorine started to get to him. 

Rei was doing more or less the same thing in the neighbouring lane. Minus Rin's two-second head start, of course. 

"It's like I keep saying. With that attitude, you'll never win," Rin said, shaking his head. 

It wasn't like Rei was too weak to kick ass. He pretty obviously kept up with the track workouts that had given him a lot of dense, corded muscle. But a competitor with real killer instinct had no problem slaughtering someone who thought too much about the angle at which his toes pointed. 

The only swimmer who'd ever really challenged Rin was Haru. In the water, Haru simply _was_ , no extraneous bullshit allowed, and it drove Rin crazy because that kind of peace couldn't be taught, or touched, or taken no matter how much Rin might want to grab hold of it. 

"I disagree," Rei replied. He snapped his goggles up and off, and it was strange to see him without anything covering his eyes. "I absolutely won that race."

"How do you figure?"

"Your palms hit the water least ten degrees off the optimal entry angle, and the amount of splash you caused was unnecessary. I could feel it all the way over in my lane. I was the winner by any objective standard other than speed." 

"Tell to the guy with the watch, glasses." 

The guy with the watch -- Nagisa, of course -- gave them both a cheerful wave from the sidelines. Rin didn't buy it for a second. Nagisa was lapping this shit up so that he could regurgitate the juicy parts to Gou later on. His sister's to ability wade through the twisted waters of Nagisa's mind never ceased to amaze him.

"Rin-chan and Rei-chan are both unique swimmers with their own styles," Nagisa carolled. Rin didn't miss that Nagisa had decided not to give them their actual times. Cheeky son of a bitch. 

Why was Rin friends with Nagisa again?

Right, right, because he was a good person or whatever. 

"Yeah, well, this isn't synchronized swimming," Rin said. 

"Synchronized swimming is fascinating," Rei said. "Did you know that they cross-train in gymnastics and ballet? It must be exhilarating, trying to find perfect synergy as a team." 

"I can see why you'd be interested. I doubt they'd let you wear your speedo, though." 

"Competitive synchronized swimming is a _women's_ sport, Rin."

"Yeah, so I hear." 

There was no way to top that, so Rin slapped on a smirk and stood up. 

He immediately wished that he'd left a robe by the poolside. Holy shit this place was cold. Rin had forgotten how much of a pain in the ass it was to practice at Iwatobi's outdoor pool outside the eight weeks of summer in which it was halfway tolerable. If he'd been thinking, he would have asked Ai if they could invade the Samezuka facility. 

He hadn't, though. Hadn't thought about what it would feel like to swim with everyone now. 

Rin turned to grab the towel that Nagisa tossed him and hurriedly scrubbed at his shoulders. Haru was still splashing in the deep end of the pool, sleek and unpretentious. Makoto sat nearby with his own stack of towels. 

"So this plan where I set you up." Rin scrunched his eyes closed and towelled off his hair. "I need some hints here. What are you into, other than jocks?"

Rei made a hilarious sound in the back of his throat. 

"What makes you assume I prefer m--"

Oh, for fuck's sake. Rin was not in the mood for this. His ass was cold, his stomach was empty, and as usual, he was going to look really stupid when he stooped to dry off his legs. 

"Gee, I don't know," Rin interrupted. "The part where I've met you, mostly?" 

Nagisa chose this moment to bound up beside them, all sunshine and rainbows. He looked like Christmas had come early and Santa had brought him the gift of a total trainwreck. 

"There's a plan to set Rei-chan up?" 

Well, Rin would show Nagisa. This was going to be amazing. Rin knew just the thing. 

+++

Rin walked into the Samezuka pool facility like he still owned the place, which in a way, he guessed he probably did. None of their current crop of swimmers would ever surpass him. They were good, but they were only dilettantes. They used the swim club to mark time while they waited for high school to end and their real lives to begin.

Unsurprisingly, those guys didn't like Rin very much. He was lucky that Aiichiro had sent him a visitor's entrance code to get on campus. 

"Hey, Ai," Rin called out. "It's been a while."

Ai sputtered for a second in the water, then completed his circuit and pulled himself against the side of the pool. He snapped his goggles off but didn't come out of the water. 

"Senpai! You came!"

"Said I would, didn't I?"

"That's true… but you're not on time very often. And, well, I was a little surprised when you texted to say you wanted to stop by."

Which was probably the reason why Ai had decided to swim laps instead of waiting for him by the diving board. 

Rin took his shoes off so that he could sit on the side of the pool, his bare feet dangling down into the water. It felt like a Haru thing to do, except no, Haru wouldn't have sat, he'd have stripped down to his jammer and dove right in without even talking to Ai. Haru was single-minded like that. It was sort of graceful when it wasn't mind-blowingly stupid. Makoto was probably pretty into it, seeing as how he and Haru had already lasted eight months together. 

Shit, Rin wasn't here to think about Haru. Had to keep his eyes on the prize. This was about about helping out some friends. 

"We're friends, Nittori." Rin leaned back to look up at the high, vaulted ceiling. "Don't make me spout a bunch of sappy bullshit." 

"It's not like you to want to chat for no reason."

"What makes you think I don't have a reason?" 

"Um… I don't know?" 

Rin had spent a ludicrous amount of time looking at this ceiling, practicing to his backstroke to make sure that his muscle development stayed balanced. The view was pretty fucking boring. It was better than being face-to-face, though, because Ai's big stupid eyes matched his big stupid crush on Rin, and Rin had long ago decided not to go there. 

Ai looked up to him too much -- was looking up at him right now. Rin had zero interest in taking advantage of his kouhai like that. Not after what had happened to Rin in Australia. 

So really, this plan was perfect.

Rin exhaled, bracing himself, and looked down. 

"What do you think of glasses over at that Iwatobi Swim Club?"

"Ryuugazaki?" Ai settled his chin on his forearms, which were crossed on the edge of the pool. "I don't know much about proper form for the butterfly…"

"I don't need you to tell me about his butterfly stroke, Ai." Rin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I think I've got that one figured out. I mean, as a person."

"As a … person?"

Ai's brow furrowed. At least, Rin thought it did. It was kind of hard to tell between the low lighting and Ai's strange pale bangs plastered to his forehead. 

"He's a good guy," Rin said. "Like, okay, he's a fucking lunatic, but it's the good kind of lunatic, you know? Not the kind that talks to mannequins and stabs you in your sleep."

The furrow was gone. Ai was now openly staring. Rin realized that he was probably not making the greatest case here, and shame on him, because Rei was maybe the best person he knew. Rin hadn't forgotten what he did at that regional tournament two years ago. 

"What I'm saying is, there are probably upsides to being with a huge wierdo who's obsessed with being perfect. The guy's ripped. _And_ he's really smart, and he likes swimming, and he's always entertaining because seriously, it takes like zero effort to get him to do something hilarious. You don't even know." 

For some reason, Ai did not appear to be enticed by this. 

"Are- are you asking me if it would be a good idea for you to date Ryuugazaki?"

"What? Whoa, _no_." Rin was not that much of a tool. "I was thinking it might be a good idea if _you_ dated him. It's tough for him, with Haru and Makoto together. And I figured maybe you'd be interested." 

Ai sighed and hauled himself up out of the water. He walked over to the side of the pool to get a towel.

"Well… I was going to say, senpai, that it might be good for you to see someone." Ai ran the towel over his head. "I know you miss Nanase."

Rin gaped. He really, legitimately, honest-to-god gaped, for the first time in maybe years. 

His kouhai had gone and grown up while Rin was at school. It was a relief -- that crush had been kind of embarrassing -- but also a little sad. There'd been a time in Rin's life when it had been good to know that at least one person on the planet was prepared to swallow his shit. 

Everything changed when you went away. Rin should have remembered that. 

"Don't be an idiot." Rin barked out a laugh. "I'd be a terrible boyfriend." 

"Is that what you think?"

Oh hell no, Rin was not playing this game. He didn't come here to be psychoanalyzed.

"Interested: yes or no." 

"Then, no, sorry," Ai said. "No offense to Ryuugazaki. We're all graduating soon, so it's not a good time. A student like him will leave town for sure."

Ai finished drying himself off and tossed Rin a towel of his own. Rin swung his feet out of the pool and set to work. 

"Great. Now I'll never get this thing done within a week," Rin complained. "Do you realize how much work Rei needs before he can be set loose in public?"

Rin wished that Ai would stop looking at him like he'd gone crazy. Rei had done the same thing, but Rei had no goddamn common sense, so his opinion hadn't counted. 

"… I'm sure Hazuki can think of something to help you out," Ai said.

That was not comforting in the slightest.


End file.
